Rose Ariadne's Chitchcraft Blog

Dear Friends,

Have you ever heard the phrase “not playing with a full deck?” In some cases, when it comes to tarot cards, it’s best to use the vast majority of your deck for a spread. This type of full deck reading is rare, but it is very powerful. Instead of receiving just three cards in answer to your question, you’ll get 72 different aspects of the situation. You can use full deck spreads to paint a complete picture of your life, to get a “status” quo update of the major influencing factors and a heads up for what’s around the corner.

Since interpreting a full deck tarot spread is a major undertaking, before you start make sure that you have the time to devote to the interpretation. With this, you want to make sure that you cast a circle and shield yourself. It takes a great deal of psychic awareness to divine the true meaning of this amount of cards, so you need to open yourself psychically before you dive in. As you know, it’s important to shield yourself when you are opening your third eye. Burn some protective incense, put a few crystals on your altar or take a ritual bath before you do this.

It goes without saying that this type of spread should only be done when you are looking into an issue that has many levels or is very complicated. This isn’t the spread to use if you want a clear, concise answer to your problem. However, it is a good spread to use if you want to forecast for the general future. I do it once a year on my birthday to forecast for the coming year.

Start your reading by casting a circle and lighting your incense. Orange, sandlewood and hibiscus are good choices. Shuffle the deck until you feel comfortable with it. Don’t try to rush this part of the process. Shuffle as long as you need to because you need to be completely in tune with the order of the card.

Deal from the top of the deck (while the deck is facing down) and then deal out thirteen piles of six cards each. The first pile should be in the center with the others in a circle around the the center, starting with a pile immediately to the left of the center pile, and distributing the cards in a counterclockwise fashion. Each deck should be dealt in a group of six. For example, cards one through six should be in one pile, with cards seven through twelve in the second, and so forth and so on.

The thirteen different piles are representative of the twelve house of the zodiac wheel, as well as a pile for overview (the center pile). Take the first deck of cards that were dealt after the center deck (the one directly to the left) and then spread out the cards in a line. This portion of the deck deals with your first house, which is your personality, your outward appearance and how you approach the world. Card one is representative of the question or problem in this area of your life. Card two is the source of the problem. Card 3 is the factors that have impact on the matter but are effecting it from the outside. Card 4 is the internal factors that are effecting the matter. Card 5 is the outcome of the actions that you are taking.

Card Six is the heart of the matter at hand. It gives you a basic overview of this part of your life and all of the factors that are working for and against you in this area. In some cases, it can be the hidden part of the issue that isn’t seen. It may be something that you are forgetting or are blind to.

The rest of the houses are as follows:

Second house: personal finances, self-esteem
Third house: communication and thoughts
Fourth house: early home life and family
Fifth house: creativity and children
Sixth house: daily work and health
Seventh house: partnerships and marriage
Eight house: shared property and spirituality
Ninth house: travel, philosophy and higher education
Tenth house: career, public persona
Eleventh house: social groups, friends
Twelfth house: secrets and psychology

The houses should be read in order, ending with your thirteenth pile which is an overview of the entire situation.

If you don’t have time to interpret all of the cards at once, make notes of the cards that you drew so you can refer back to them later. When you follow this route and do an interpretation at a later date, make sure to pull back out the cards that you are using so you can look at them. Don’t simply rely on the interpretation offered in a book.

This is an insightful, but labor intensive, spread so make sure to pick an appropriate time and place to complete it. I hope it works as well for you as it has for me.

Brightest Blessings,

Rose Ariadne
Your Warm And Caring “Resident Witch In Charge”

Dear Friends,

You may have heard of the Green Man and the Goddess Gaia and assumed that this post has something to do with those earthly deities. In a certain respect it does. However, the main goal of my message to you today is to cause you to take notice of the state of the world around you and how what you do can change the direction we’re headed.

Being eco-friendly and taking steps to preserve the Earth is a hot topic right now and with good reason. The Earth only has so many resources and from a practical point of view, we’re running out of space. However, there’s a spiritual aspect to it as well which I feel that witches are especially attuned to. Working with nature as we do, it’s only natural (pun intended) that ecology and the preservation of the earth are of prime importance to us.

It’s important to remember that the Earth is a living creature and to many, including myself, she is a Goddess. The fact that we have continually taken from Mother Earth again and again as a people without reverence for her bounty is a result of the modern view of life. In ancient times, the people worked with the earth and respected it. There wasn’t as much taking as there was “borrowing” when things were needed.

Modern witches understand this aspect, which modern society is only beginning to do so. In my teachings and my magickal practice, I always make sure to emphasize that when you take from the Earth you do so respectfully. When I tend my garden and pick bunches of sage to use for incense, I ask the bush for its offering and respond with a grateful heart. Contrast this to the modern Judeo-Christian idea that we own the Earth and everything on it.

So how can you magickally work to save the earth? I’m assuming that you are already doing the things that you should be doing that is advised by conventional society. This includes recycling, working toward reducing your ecological footprint, saving energy and trying to use less. There are things that you can do on a spiritual level that can help save the Earth.

The easiest way to make an impact is to spend time in meditation each day sending white light out from your body to the earth. Imagine it coming up out of the earth, through your core and out of your body to cover the earth. Picture thousands of people doing the same and Earth receiving the white, healing light. Visualize the oceans becoming clean, the air clearing of pollutants, plants growing in barren areas….any images that you can call to mind that will heal the Earth will do.

You can also use meditation and ritual to connect with the natural spirits around you. Using a guided visualization, you can transport yourself to areas that need healing and work with the spirits in that area. You can also connect with nature spirits directly in your area. Go outside and meditate. Feel what the Earth really needs and let the spirits know that you are there to help. Once you do this, notice for signs in your intuition for what you should do next.

If there are pagan or other spiritual groups in your area, you can help to organize a group prayer, meditation or ritual in which you all combine your energy to put toward the healing of the Earth. These types of events can be very powerful and motivating. This can even be extended to people in other spiritual paths.

Another way to honor the Earth is to start incorporating the Earth Goddess into your regular rituals. Place a representation of her on your altar and ask her into your circle. By honoring her in this way, you’ll help increase her energy and you’ll be guided toward healing the Earth more and more.

Each time you’re out in nature, say a little prayer to the natural beauty all around you. Pray for the health of the planet and honor the ground you’re standing upon. This is especially important when you’re visiting a place of power, like a shrine, temple, grove or type of stone circle. These placed deserve the utmost honor and respect.

Of course, these actions shouldn’t be done in a vacuum. Make sure your mundane life lines up with your spiritual work with the Earth. Join environmental causes, write your members of Congress to petition them for more Earth-friendly legislation and recycle in your home. These seemingly small steps can make a big difference, especially when you inspire others to follow in your path. Be an example for the pagans around you and you can help heal the Earth together.

Brightest Blessings,

Rose Ariadne
Your Warm And Caring “Resident Witch In Charge”

Dear Friends,

Meditation is an important part of your magickal practice. It’s essential that you work meditation into your practice, and I recommend that you try to fit it in on a daily basis. This post will provide you with a general framework for meditation and some specific meditations that will help you get the most out of the practice. Keep in mind that you don’t have to do a full blown ritual in order to meditate each and every time. You can keep it simple on a daily basis and do larger meditation when time permits.

Meditation is an essential to what witches do. It’s a lot simpler than many people would have you believe. If you’ve tried it in the past and found it difficult, you should know that it gets easier the more that you do it. Try using these meditation exercises for just a few minutes at first. Once you’ve mastered a five to ten minute session, start increasing it to fifteen and then twenty minutes. Before you know it, you’ll be able to meditate for a half hour or more.

You should also find a method that appeals to you. There are many different ways to meditate. In this post, I’ll go over a few of the basic ways. If you don’t find that these mediations resonate with you, then you should search for something that does.

Meditation is important for witchcraft because it increases your ability to focus. When you are able to focus for long periods of time, you gain better control of your personal energy and the energy that you send out into the world. You’ll also become more in touch with your psychic energy and be able to connect with your spirit guides.

Once you use the basics in this post, you may find that you want to find more about meditation and magick. There are several excellent books available on the market that have advanced training in meditation for witches. Try to find a book that is for solitary witches since it is more likely to have individual meditation training.

Meditation, simply put, is being able to picture things in your mind. Your brain thinks in pictures, and not in words or symbols. When someone says “tree” you don’t see the letters T R E E. You picture the tree in your backyard, or a Christmas tree or a forest.

In order to understand meditation, you’ve also got to understand chakras, or the body’s energy points. These are places along the length of your midline center where nerves come together in a bundle. They are like intersections on your nerve highways. Picture the most complicated highway interchange you can imagine and then multiply the amount of roads by a hundred. That’s what your chakra points look like.

When you use your chakras during meditation, you’re getting your entire body in alignment. Brain waves, energy and messages between body parts travel through these chakras and meditation helps them to work in perfect balance. When your body is aligned, you can more easily raise energy and send it out into the world.

Meditating on your chakras or “chakra alignment” as it’s often called is one of the meditation techniques I’d like to share with you. If it’s been a while since you meditated you may want to start with this type of meditation. This will help get you balanced and on track.

Another popular type of meditation is guided imagery. In this type of meditation, you’ll walk yourself through a natural place (or unnatural…it’s completely up to you!) It’s kind of like taking a walk in the park without ever leaving your home. This is a great way to connect with nature when you’re not around natural elements. You can use guided imagery to connect with Mother Earth, visit places you’ve never been to or reconnect with a real place that you’ve been before.

In order to do guided imagery, you need an image to start with. It can be a photograph or painting of a beautiful place. Make sure that the place resonates with you and feels like it has something to offer you. For example, I’ve always been drawn to water and my guided imagery journeys tend to be to lakes, rivers and the ocean. These places resonate with me and bring me power and energy. Find a similar place for yourself.

Begin your meditation by focusing on the picture. You should place it across the room from you, but not so far away that you can’t see it. Generally, I’ll pull up an image on my computer screen and then push back my office chair a little bit so I can really focus on the entire image. I look over the image and take in its major features. As I stare at the image, I start with my feet and imagine what it would be like to touch the ground there barefoot. Then I move on to my skin and start to feel the ocean breeze or the still calm of the lakeside.

At this point, the image is burned firmly in my mind and I’ll close my eyes. I immerse myself in the experience and continue my meditation by walking through the landscape and discovering what I’m meant to discover.

Remember that meditation, in any form, is important for your work as a witch. Take inspiration from this post and try to make it a daily part of your life.

Brightest Blessings,

Rose Ariadne
Your Warm And Caring “Resident Witch In Charge”

Dear Friends,

In the last post, we discussed a brief history of runes and some simple castings that you can do to help guide your future. If you find yourself intensely drawn to working with runes, you may want to consider making a set of your own. Making and using your own runes will help you connect more with your readings. And on top of that, it’s just a fun “crafty” type project (pun intended).

When you make your own runes, you’ll be imbibing them with your energy and making the interpretations more powerful and personal. Although you can definitely get accurate readings with store bought runes, you’ll be able to go even deeper with ones that you make yourself. When you work with store bought runes for a long time, you’ll eventually imbibe them with your energy. But when you make your own, it’s like working with runes you’ve had for five years.

For this project you’ll need some wood. You can either use a flat piece of wood, or you can purchase a wooden dowel that you can cut into circles. For the flat wood, you’ll be creating square shaped runes. You’ll need 25 to 24 pieces in order to create your runes. Twenty five pieces are necessary if you want to include blank rune. The blank rune is most normally read as an answer that you should not have access to. It represents something that you shouldn’t know at this point. Although ancient runes most definitely did not include a blank rune, a lot of modern rune casters use them. I find that it’s a nice addition to a reading and can definitely act as a sign post that someone has “read too far.”

Either cut your square pieces out of wood or cut your disks out of the dowel. Make sure that your pieces are ½ to ¾ of an inch thick. Make sure to sand the edges of your runes so that you won’t get any splinters. If cutting your own pieces is too much of a hassle, you can also find pre-cut wood pieces at craft stores like Michael’s.

Still another option, if you’re interested in going completely natural is to go for a walk in the woods and approach a tree that you find yourself drawn to. You can connect yourself with the tree and then ask for an appropriate branch. Cut the branch and say a blessing. Make sure to leave an offering of sage or a decorative stone to thank the tree for it’s sacrifice.

You can also do the same process with finding stones for stone runes. Stone runes are fun to use since they produce a wonderful clacking noise as you tumble them together. Walk down a river or creek and look for stones that are approximately the same size. Try to find stones that are flat on one side so you can write the symbols down easily. This may be hard to do in one trip, so you could make it an ongoing project. Just keep looking for stones wherever you go and eventually you’ll collect 24 or 25.

Once you’ve got all of your pieces, wood or stone, you need to inscribe them with the runic symbols. If you are using wood, you’ll need a wood burning tool or paint. It’s easier to write the symbols on wood with paint than using a permanent market. Paint is appropriate for stones as well, but I have seen some nice handmade sets that were created with a set of markers.

After you inscribe your runes, make sure to use some clear coat on top of the symbol. This way your symbols won’t wear off with use. You can choose any color you wish to inscribe the runes. Personally, I’ve always liked the look of red on wood and on dark stones. It’s more traditional and it reflects the way that runes were made with blood in olden times.

Once you’ve given them enough time to dry (normally 24 to 48 hours), it’s time to consecrate them. Just as you would consecrate any other magickal object, you need to consecrate your runes so that they can be used for divination purposes. For this consecration ritual, you’ll need to know each runes name and have a cauldron. Cast a circle as you normally would, and invite Odin to sit within your circle. As the Norse God, he’s appropriate for this consecration ritual. He was the God that first brought the runic symbols to mankind.

Take each rune (in alphabetical order) and hold it to your forehead. Say it’s name out loud, then blow on it (to attune it to your energies) and then place it in your cauldron. Remove them all from the cauldron at the end of the ritual and place them in the bag or box that you will be storing them in for the long term. For the first moon cycle after creating the runes, carry them with you. Have them in your purse, your briefcase or your backpack. Sleep with them under your pillow and meditate with them each day. This will help them become part of you and allow you to divine with them very easily.

Brightest Blessings,

Rose Ariadne
Your Warm And Caring “Resident Witch In Charge”